QL 
467 
H42 

ENTO 


STORIES 


L1F 


« 


FRED  M.    DEWITT 

BOOKSELLER 
OAKLAND.  H  CAL 


ENTOMOLOGY  LIB- 


STORIES 


OF 


INSECT  LIFE 


BY 


CLARENCE   MOORES   WEED 


BOSTON,  U.S.A.,  AND  LONDON 

GINN   &    COMPANY,    PUBLISHERS 

C&e  &t&eiwettm  JJreas 

1900 


9 


COPYRIGHT,  1897,  BY 
CLARENCE    MOORES    WEED 

ALL   RIGHTS    RESERVED 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

I.  THE  TENT  CATERPILLARS  AND  THEIR  NESTS                           1 

II.  THE  MOTH  AND  ITS  EGGS  -                                   ...     6 

III.  THE  TENT  CATERPILLAR  PARASITE  10 

IV.  THE  WORMS  ON  THE  CABBAGE  LEAVES     -        -        -        -  12 
V.  THE  PARASITES  OF  THE  CABBAGE  WORMS     -                         16 

VI.  THE  RED  AND  BLACK  TIGER  CATERPILLAR       -                 -  18 

VII.  THE  PARASITE  OF  THE  TIGER  CATERPILLAR                   -       20 

VIII.  THE  MOURNING  CLOAK  OR  ANTIOPA  BUTTERFLY                -  22 

IX.  THE  CLOUDED  SULPHUR  BUTTERFLY                                        25 

X.  AN  AMBUSHED  BANDIT        -        --        -        -        -        -28 

XL  THE  LIFE-HISTORY  OF  THE  ANT-LION      ....       31 

XII.     THE  MAY  BEETLES,  OR  JUNE  BUGS 33 

XIII.  THE  COMMON  POTATO  BEETLE  ...      35 

XIV.  THE  QUEER  CASES  ON  THE  WILLOW  TWIGS      -        -        -  37 
XV.  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  DOBSON                                                  41 

XVI.  THE  DOBSON  BECOMES  A  HELLGRAMITE     -        -        -        -44 

XVII.     THE  APHIS  LION -      46 

XVIII.  THE  GOLDEN-EYE,  OR  LACE-WINGED  FLY            -        -        -  48 

XIX.  THE  WHITE  EGG  AMIDST  THE  PLANT  LICE  -        -        -       50 

XX.  THE  FLOWER  SPIDER   -                                    -        ...  52 

iii 


NOTE. 


THE  original  sources  of  those  illustrations  in  this  book  which 
have  not  been  prepared  under  the  direction  of  the  author  should 
be  credited  as  follows  :  After  C.  V.  Biley,  Figs.  2,  5,  9-11,  15, 
17-22,  33,  34,  36,  39,  41-44,  50 ;  after  Brehm,  Fig.  12  ;  after 
Harris,  Figs.  23-25  ;  after  Forbes,  Figs.  31,  32  ;  after  Packard, 
Figs.  27,  28,  30.  Fig.  29  is  after  an  English  author,  and 
Figs.  45-49  are  reproductions  of  illustrations  published  by  the 
Division  of  Entomology  of  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture. Many  of  the  other  figures  were  drawn  for  this  book  by 
Mr.  James  Hall. 

C.  M.  W. 


iv 


STORIES  OF  INSECT  LIFE. 


THE  TENT  CATERPILLARS  AND  THEIR  NESTS. 

OF  course  every  child  who  has  taken  a  walk  in  the  country 
in  spring  has  seen  the  caterpillars'  nests  in 
the  apple  and  wild  cherry  trees.     No  doubt 
you  thought  they   were   not  very  pretty, 
and  perhaps  you  shuddered  when  thinking  of  the 
"  horrid  worms  "  you  knew  were  in  them. 

But  if  you  could  sit  on  a  big  apple  limb  some 
day  and  watch  one  of  the  nests  close  at  hand,  I 
think  you  would  find  much  to  interest  you.     In 
the  morning,  some  time  after  sunrise,  you  would 
see  the  "  horrid  worms  "  come  out  of  the  doors  of 
the  tent  and  march  along  —  mostly  in  Indian  file 
—  in  search  of  breakfast.     When    they  come   to  a 
fork  in  the  branch  some  will  go  to  the  right  and 
some  to  the  left,  but  each  will  finally  stop  when  it 
finds  a  leaf  to  its  liking.     It  will  then  feed  upon  the 
leaf,  biting  it  on  the  edges  with  its  good-sized  jaws, 
and  often  leaving  only  the  midrib  to  show  that  a 

Caterpillar's 

Nest.      leat  was  there. 

After  breakfasting  an  hour  or  two,  most  of  the  caterpillars 
are  likely  to  march  back  to  the  tent  and  crawl  in  through  the 
half-closed  doors,  where  they  range  themselves  side  by  side, 
much  as  sardines  are  packed  in  a  box.  By  thus  seeking  shelter 

1 


STORIES    OF    INSECT    LIFE. 


during  the  middle  of  the  day,  they  hide  away  from  the  birds  and 
from  some  little  flies  that  are  always  looking  for  caterpillars  to 
lay  their  eggs  in  them.  But  I  will  tell  you  later  why  the  flies 
do  this. 


FIG.  2.  —  Full-grown  Tent  Caterpillars. 

Towards  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  the  procession  of  the 
caterpillars  may  again  be  seen  going  forth  to  war  upon  the  un- 
resisting leaves.  As  in  the  morning,  they  scatter  here  and 
there  over  the  twigs,  each  choosing  a  leaf  for  its  victim  and 
devouring  it  piecemeal  until  hunger  is  satisfied.  Then  home- 
ward they  go,  and  through  the  cold,  damp  night  they  keep  each 
other  warm  beneath  the  silken  folds  of  the  tent. 


TENT   CATERPILLARS   AND   THEIR    NESTS.  3 

If  you  look  carefully  at  the  surface  of  the  limb  on  which 
the  procession  has  been  marching  you  will  see  many  whitish 
silken  threads.  One  of  these  threads  is  spun  by  each  of  the 
caterpillars  as  it  marches  along.  The  thread  comes  from  the 


FIG.  3.  —Apple  Leaves  eaten  by  Tent  Caterpillars. 

mouth  in  the  form  of  a  liquid,  secreted  by  certain  peculiar 
glands,  which  on  exposure  to  the  air  hardens  into  a  silken 
thread.  Probably  the  caterpillar  is  guided  back  to  its  tent  by 
the  thread  which  it  spun  on  the  outward  journey. 

During  cold  and  wet  weather  the  caterpillars  remain  within 
the  shelter  of  the  tent,  sallying  forth  again  when  the  spring 
sun  shows  his  genial  face. 

About  the  first  of  June  the  caterpillars  become  full-grown, 
as  far  as  this  part  of  their  life  is  concerned.  They  can  eat  no 
more  leaves,  and  appear  to  be  seized  with  a  desire  to  wander 
away  from  home.  Down  the  tree  they  crawl  and  out  into  a 
strange  new  world  —  a  jungle  of  weeds  and  grass  —  they  go, 
seeking  here  and  there  the  friendly  shelter  of  a  stone  or  board 
or  fence.  When  such  shelter  is  found,  the  caterpillar  halts  for 


4  STORIES    OF    INSECT    LIFE. 

rest.  Soon  it  begins  weaving  about  itself  a  silken  shroud,  the 
glands  in  the  mouth  which  furnish  the  thread  to  guide  it 
homeward  from  its  feeding  grounds  again  doing  duty  for  the 
shroud.  Before  long  the  caterpillar  is  hidden  within  the  white 
silken  woof.  It  next  ejects  from  its  body  a  yellow  fluid  which 
runs  among  the  silken  meshes  and  gives  the  cocoon  —  for  so  the 
shroud  is  called  —  a  yellow  color  (Fig.  4). 


FIG.  4.  —  Cocoon  of  Tent  Caterpillar. 

The  body  of  the  caterpillar  now  becomes  shorter  and  thicker. 
Before  long  the  skin  on  the  front  part  of  its  back  splits  open 
and  the  caterpillar  wriggles  violently  until  the  skin  is  finally 
crowded  off  to  the  hinder  end,  and  there  lies  within  the  cocoon 
only  a  brown  chrysalis. 

The  change  from  the  active  caterpillar  to  the  quiet  chrysalis 

is  a  strange  transformation.  The 
chrysalis  takes  no  food,  and  its 
only  movement  is  a  feeble  wrig- 
gle. The  insect  remains  in  this 
condition  for  nearly  two  weeks. 
~  _  __  ..  71  .  Then  another  change  takes 

rlG.  5.  — Moth,  of  Tent  Caterpillar. 

place  :  the  skin  of  the  chrysalis 
splits  apart  and  there  comes  forth  a  queer-looking  moth  that 


TENT    CATERPILLARS    AND    THEIR    NESTS.  5 

pushes  its  way  through  the  meshes  of  the  cocoon.  When  its 
wings  are  finally  spread  out  and  dried  it  resembles  Fig.  5,  if  it 
happens  to  be  a  female  moth.  If  it  is  a  male  moth  it  is  some- 
what smaller.  The  color  in  both  is  reddish  brown. 

Thus  the  caterpillar  has  reached  the  highest  stage  of  its 
existence.  Within  a  few  weeks  the  "horrid  worm"  has 
become  a  handsome  moth. 


THE   MOTH  AND  ITS  EGGS. 


IF  you  could  become  a  fairy  small  enough  to  ride  upon  the 
back  of  one  of  the  larger  of  these  reddish-brown  moths,  you 
would  have  an  interesting  experience.  During  the  day  the 
moth  would  hide  with  you  in  almost  any  quiet  shelter  she 
could  find,  but  at  night  she  would  fly 
abroad  with  many  other  moths  of  the 
same  and  other  kinds.  She  might  be 
attracted  by  the  light  shining  through 
somebody's  window,  and  bump  your  fairy 
nose  against  the  pane.  But  more  likely 
she  would  ask  you  to  rest  upon  an  apple 
twig  while  she  busied  herself  in  laying 
her  eggs.  She  fastens  these  upon  the 
twig  in  clusters  of  two  hundred  or  more, 
setting  them  on  end  side  by  side  upon 
the  bark.  When  the  laying  of  a  cluster 
is  finished  the  moth  covers  the  eggs  with 
a  glue-like  substance,  which  hardens  into 
a  shiny  varnish  that  keeps  out  the  mois- 
ture (Fig.  6). 

After  the  eggs  are  laid  the  fairy  will 
do  well  to  find  another  moth  to  carry  its 
tiny  self,  for  this  moth  will  soon  die,  her 
purpose  in  life  being  accomplished  when  the  eggs  were  laid. 

These  eggs  fastened  upon  the  twigs  of  apple  and  wild 
cherry  trees  during  July  do  not  hatch  until  the  following 
spring.  The  marvelous  change  within  the  shell  by  which 
the  egg  develops  into  a  tiny  caterpillar  takes  place,  however, 


FIG.  6.  —Egg  Mass  of 
Tent  Caterpillar. 


THE   MOTH   AND   ITS   EGGS.  7 

before  winter  begins.  If  you  could  carefully  open  one  of  the 
little  cylinder-like  eggshells  during  cold  weather  you  would 
find  the  fully  formed  caterpillar  within.  It  is  such  a  condition 
as  would  occur  if  a  hen's  egg  developed  into  a  chick  which 
remained  alive  inside  the  shell  for  several  months  before  peck- 
ing its  way  out. 

When  the  long  months  of  waiting  through  the  cold  winter 
are  passed,  the  spring  sunshine  wakens  the  caterpillars  to  life. 
Then  they  gnaw  through  the  thin  eggshells  and  crawl  out  to 
find  themselves  in  a  strange  new  world.  Beside  them  are  the 
buds  bursting  into  leaf,  and,  led  by  that  strange  knowledge 
which  we  call  instinct,  the  band  of  little  caterpillars  crawls 
down  the  twig  to  the  nearest  fork  in  the  branches.  Here  they 
spin  a  silken  web  which  is  the  beginning  of  the  tent  or  "nest." 
They  stay  in  it  at  night  and  at  other  times  when  not  feeding 
upon  the  leaves. 

About  a  week  after  the  caterpillars  have  hatched,  their 
bodies  have  so  increased  in  size  that  they  must  provide  them- 
selves with  a  skin  larger  than  the  one  with  which  they  were 
born  ;  for  insects  do  not  grow  as  the  higher  animals  do.  With 
the  latter  the  skin  grows  along  with  the  body,  but  with  the 
former  it  does  not  stretch  and  cannot  increase  in  size.  So 
some  day  the  colony  of  caterpillars  remains  at  home  beneath 
the  silken  folds  of  the  tent.  The  skin  of  each  splits  open 
along  the  back,  and  the  caterpillar  crawls  out  of  the  old  skin 
clothed  in  a  new  one  that  had  been  formed  beneath  the  other. 

When  the  caterpillars  become  used  to  the  new  clothes  thus 
so  kindly  provided  by  Mother  Nature,  they  sally  forth  again  in 
search  of  food.  This  skin-shedding  process  is  called  moulting. 
It  is  repeated  several  times  during  the  lives  of  the  caterpillars, 
which  become  full-grown  in  about  six  weeks.  They  then 
resemble  Fig.  2,  and  are  nearly  two  inches  long.  The  body  is 


STORIES    OF    INSECT   LIFE. 


hairy  and  has  a  distinct  white  stripe  along  the  middle  of  the 
back,  on  each  side  of  which  are  short  yellow  lines.  The  sides 
are  partially  covered  with  paler  lines,  spotted  and  streaked 
with  blue.  The  lower  surface  of  the  body  is  black. 


FIG.  7.  —  Wild  Cherry  Tree,  showing  Nests  of  Tent  Caterpillars. 

You  can  easily  watch  the  growth  of  these  caterpillars  by 
placing  two  or  three  of  them  in  a  glass-covered  box,  having 
a  little  sand  or  earth  in  the  bottom.  Feed  them  every  day 
with  apple  or  wild  cherry  leaves  freshly  dipped  in  water. 


THE   MOTH    AND   ITS    EGGS.  9 

In  feeding,  the  tent  caterpillars  devour  the  substance  of  the 
leaf,  often  taking  all  but  the  midrib,  but  more  commonly  leav- 
ing parts  of  the  leaf  along  the  midrib  as  shown  in  Fig.  3.  If 
many  caterpillars  are  on  the  tree,  its  leaves  will  be  entirely 
eaten  off,  a  condition  shown  in  the  photograph  reproduced  in 
Fig.  7. 


THE   TENT  CATERPILLAR   PARASITE. 

IN  many  of  the  nests  of  the  tent  caterpillars  you  can  find 
peculiarly  shrunken  caterpillar  skins,  looking  like  Fig.  8.     The 
under   side    is    generally   split   open    and 
shows  part  of  a  silken  cocoon. 

These    are    the   remains  of   caterpillars 
which    have    been    killed    by    parasites. 
FlG-*--Ten'CaterPillar     Weeks  before,  when  the  caterpillars  were 

killed  by  a  Parasite. 

rather  small,  an  egg  was  deposited  in  each 
by  a  four-winged  fly,  resembling  in  general 
appearance  Fig.  11.     The  egg  hatched  into 
a  tiny  maggot,  which  grew  by  absorbing 
the  juices  of  the  caterpillar's  body.  FIG.  9.  —  Parasitic  Maggot. 

In  two  or  three  weeks  the  maggot  became 
so  large  that  the  caterpillar  was  killed  and 
FIG.  10.— Pupa  of        nothing  was  left  of  it  but  the  skin  with  the 
parasite   on  the   inside.       The  latter  then 
spun  a  silken  cocoon,  within 
which  it  changed  to  a  pupa 
(Fig.  10). 

A  short  time  afterwards  an- 
other change  takes  place  and 
from  the  pupa  there  emerges 
a  fly  similar  to  the  one  which 
laid  the  egg  in  the  young 
caterpillar  (Fig.  11).  This  fly 
is  called  an  ichneumon  fly. 

„,,  .,,  ,  FlG.  11. — Ichneumon  Fly. 

The   tent  caterpillars  have 

many    enemies    besides    these    ichneumon   flies.     While    their 
hairy  skins  protect  them  from  the  attacks  of  many  birds,  there 

10 


THE  TEHT  CATERPILLAR  PARASITE. 


11 


are  some,  like  the  Blue  Jay  and  the  Cuckoos,  which  devour 
them  eagerly.  In  one  case  a  Cuckoo  was  seen  to  eat  twenty- 
seven  caterpillars,  one  after  the  other,  at  one  time,  all  taken 
from  a  single  nest. 


FIG.  12.  —  Yellow-billed  Cuckoo. 


THE  WORMS  ON  THE  CABBAGE  LEAVES. 

EVERY  boy  has  seen  the  pretty  white  butterflies  represented 
in  Figs.  13  and  14,  flying  about  in  spring  and  summer.  Now 
one  will  stop  to  suck  the  nectar  from  a  clover  blossom,  while 
another  sips  the  sweets  from  a  buttercup.  Again  you  will  see 
them  in  the  garden,  lighting  here  and  there  upon  the  young 


FIG.  13.  —White  Cabbage  Butterfly.    Male. 

cabbage  plants,  apparently  resting  a  moment  and  then  flying 
away. 

If  you  pick  off  a  leaf  upon  which  such  a  butterfly  has  rested, 
you  will  be  likely  to  find  a  tiny  whitish  object  of  a  somewhat 
conical  shape  firmly  fastened  to  the  surface.  This  is  the  egg 
of  the  butterfly. 


THE  WOKMS  ON  THE  CABBAGE  LEAVES.        13 

If  you  remove  the  cabbage  leaf  to  which  the  egg  is  attached, 
and  place  it  in  a  covered  tumbler,  or  a  box  with  a  piece  of 
glass  laid  over  the  top,  you  will  be  able  by  careful  attention 
to  learn  many  interesting  things  about  the  life-history  of  the 
insect. 

A  few  days  after  the  egg  is  laid  it  will  be  likely  to  hatch 
into  a  tiny,  green,  worm-like  caterpillar,  that  will  nibble  at  a 


FIG.  14.  —White  Cabbage  Butterfly.    Female. 

fresh  piece  of  cabbage  leaf  which  you  should  furnish.  It 
will  continue  to  eat  in  this  way,  from  day  to  day,  for  about 
a  week.  Then  if  you  watch  it  closely  you  may  be  able  to  see 
it  undergo  the  curious  process  of  shedding  its.  skin,  called 
moulting.  This  is  the  way  in  which  caterpillars  provide  for 
their  increase  in  size. 


14 


STORIES  OF  INSECT  LIFE. 


Before  moulting  begins  the  little  cabbage  worm  rests  from 
eating.  Then  its  skin  splits  open  along  the  back,  especially 
toward  the  front  end  of  the  body,  and  the  worm  crawls  out, 
clothed  in  a  new  skin  which  has  been  formed  beneath  the  old 
one.  It  soon  begins  to  eat  the  cabbage  leaf  again. 

The  caterpillar  is  larger  after  this  moult  than  before.  It 
feeds  quietly  for  another  week,  and  then  it 
sheds  its  skin  again,  being  considerably  larger 
after  the  second  moult.  Thus  the  processes  of 
eating  and  moulting  are  continued  for  perhaps 
two  weeks  longer.  Then  the  cabbage  worm 
becomes  full-grown,  as  far  as  this  caterpillar  or 
larva  stage  of  its  life  is  concerned  (Fig.  15,  a). 
The  larva  is  now  ready  to  enter  upon  the 
next  stage  of  its  existence  —  that  of  the  pupa 
or  chrysalis.  The  caterpillar  seeks  the  side  of 
its  cage,  or  if  out-of-doors  it  finds  some  secure 
shelter,  and  spins  a  silken  loop  to  hold  up  the 
front  part  of  its  body.  It  also  spins  a  tuft  of 
silk  in  which  to  entangle  its  hind  legs.  Meanwhile  its  body 
becomes  short  and  thick.  Then  along  the  back  a  crack  appears, 
and  the  pupa  wriggles  out  of  the  larva  skin.  The  latter  falls 
off,  leaving  only  the  chrysalis  attached  to  the  tuft  of  silken 
threads  at  one  end,  and  held  by  the  loop  at  the  other  end 
(Fig.  15,  b). 

The  insect  remains  in  this  chrysalis  state  about  two  weeks. 
Then  the  skin  of  the  chrysalis  splits  open  and  a  white  butter- 
fly comes  out  of  it.  At  first  its  wings  are  small  and  cramped, 
but  they  soon  spread  out  and  the  butterfly  takes  wing,  if  given 
its  liberty. 

This  butterfly  is  much  like  the  one  which  laid  the  egg  at 
the  beginning.  It  has  thus  gone  through  the  four  great  stages 


FIG.  15.  —  a,  Cab- 
bage Worm ;  6, 
Chrysalis. 


THE  WORMS  ON  THE  CABBAGE  LEAVES.        15 

of  insect  life.  It  existed  first  as  an  egg,  then  as  a  larva,  then 
as  a  chrysalis,  and  finally  as  an  adult  insect  or  butterfly. 
These  various  changes  are  commonly  spoken  of  as  the  transfor- 
mations or  life  changes  of  the  insect. 

In  appearance  the  two  sexes  of  the  butterflies  differ  slightly 
from  each  other.  In  the  males  (Fig.  13)  there  is  but  one  black 
spot  on  each  front  wing,  while  in  the  females  (Fig.  14)  there 
are  two. 

To  study  the  life-history  of  this  insect  it  is  not  necessary  to 
raise  it  from  the  egg.  Worms  of  various  sizes  may  be  obtained 
from  cabbage  plants  and  reared  in  glass-covered  boxes.  They 
should  be  frequently  provided  with  fresh  cabbage  leaves.  The 
later  stages  of  the  insect's  life-history  may  thus  readily  be 
observed. 


THE   PARASITES  OF  THE  CABBAGE   WORMS. 

I  SHOULD  not  be  surprised  if  some  morning  in  the  box  in 
which  you  were  rearing  the  cabbage  worms  collected  out-of- 
doors  when  partly  grown,  you  found  only  a  shapeless  withered 
skin  in  place  of  a  fat  green  worm.  And  beside  the  skin  you 
will  see  twenty  or  thirty  small  yellow  bodies,  lying  in  an  irreg- 
ular mass  (Fig.  16).  Each  of  the  bodies,  on  closer  view,  you 
will  see  are  composed  of  fine  silken  threads. 


FIG.  16.  —  Cocoons  of  Cabbage  Worm  Parasite. 

These  are  the  cocoons  of  another  kind  of  insect.  The  way 
they  came  where  they  are  is  explained  in  this  way :  some 
weeks  before,  when  the  cabbage  worm  was  only  partially  grown, 
a  small,  black,  four- winged  fly  (resembling  Fig.  11)  lit  upon  the 
worm  while  feeding  or  resting  on  the  cabbage  plant,  and 
deposited  beneath  its  skin  twenty  or  thirty  tiny  eggs. 

In  a  few  days  these  eggs  inside  the  cabbage  worm  hatched 
into  minute  footless  maggots,  which  remained  within  the  body 
of  the  caterpillar,  absorbing  its  life-blood.  On  this  account 
the  maggots  are  called  parasites.  In  order  to  grow  they  rob 
another  creature  of  its  life. 

The  parasitic  maggots  finally  become  full-grown  in  this  lar- 
val stage  of  their  life.  Then,  all  acting  at  the  same  time,  they 

16 


THE   PARASITES    OF    THE    CABBAGE    WORMS. 


17 


work  their  way  out  of  the  skin  of  their  host,  as  the  unfortunate 
cabbage  worm  in  which  they  develop  is  called.  After  the 
parasites  have  emerged,  the  caterpillar  becomes  merely  a  dead 
and  shapeless  mass  of  skin. 


FIG.  17.  —  Parasitic  Fly  and  its  Cocoon,  much  magnified. 

The  maggots  so  strangely  free  from  the  caterpillar  whose 
life-blood  they  have  absorbed  crowd  together  on  the  leaf. 
Each  spins  by  means  of  a  liquid  silk  a  sheltering  cocoon. 
In  these  cocoons  the  maggots  change  to  pupae. 

If  such  a  mass  of  cocoons  is  placed  in  a  bottle,  or  a  covered 
tumbler,  a  week  or  two  later  you  are  likely  to  find  in  the  vessel 
a  number  of  small  black  flies.  Each  cocoon  will  have  a  tiny 
cap  partly  open  at  one  end,  showing  where  the  flies  have  come 
out. 

These  flies  are  the  parasites  full-grown.  They  are  similar  to 
the  fly  which  laid  the  egg  in  the  cabbage  worm  some  weeks 
before.  Set  them  at  liberty  and  they  will  go  forth  in  search  of 
other  cabbage  worms,  to  repeat  the  tragic  cycle  of  insect  life. 


THE  RED  AND  BLACK  TIGER  CATERPILLAR. 

EVERY  boy  must  be  familiar  with  the  red  and  black  hairy 

caterpillar  represented  in  Fig.  18. 
It  is  one  of  the  commonest  insects 
in  spring  and  autumn,  and  is  often 
seen  even  in  winter. 

This  insect  is  so  abundant  in  many 

FIG.  18.  —  Tiger  Caterpillar.  • 

regions  that  it  is  often  spoken  of  as 

the  caterpillar.     People  think  of  it  rather  than  of  other  kinds 
when  the  word  caterpillar  is  mentioned. 

If  you  pick  up  two  or  three  of  these  caterpillars  in  spring 
and  place  them  in  a  covered  box,  you  may  readily  study  their 
life  changes.  Give  them  fresh  clover  leaves  dipped  in  water 
every  day  or  two,  so  that  they  will  have  plenty  to  eat. 

Before  very  long  you  are  likely  to  find  in  place  of  one  of 
the  caterpillars  a  rough,  hairy  cocoon.     This 
appears  to  be  made  of  the  cast-off  hairs  of  the 
caterpillar,  fastened  in  place  by  silken  threads. 
Inside  of  this  the  caterpillar  becomes  a  smooth     FIG.  19.  -cocoon  and 

i  i  T      /TV        -i  m  Chrysalis. 

brown  pupa  or  chrysalis  (Jbig.  19). 

A  week  or  two  after  the  cocoon  was  formed  the  chrysalis 
splits  open  and  a  brown  moth  emerges,  pushing  its  way 
through  one  end  of  the  cocoon.  It  is  of  medium  size.  When 
its  wings  expand  it  resembles  Fig.  20.  It  is  yellowish  brown 
with  spots  on  the  wings. 

The  moths  fly  about  at  night.  They  frequently  enter 
lighted  rooms  through  open  windows.  They  are  called  the 
Isabella  tiger  moths. 

The  caterpillars  of  the  Isabella  moth  feed  upon  many  kinds 
of  plants.  But  they  seldom  injure  to  a  serious  extent  any 


THE  RED  AND  BLACK  TIGER  CATERPILLAR.       19 

cultivated  crop.  This  is  probably  on  account  of  their  solitary 
feeding  habits  and  the  numerous  parasites  that  prey  upon 
them. 

Prof.  J.  H.  Comstock  has  published  the  following  graphic 
account  of  the  habits  of  these  caterpillars  :  "  '  Hurrying  along 
like  a  caterpillar  in  the  fall'  is  a  common  saying  among  the 
country  people  in  New  England,  and  probably  had  its  origin 
in  observations  made  upon  the  larva  of  the  isabella  tiger  moth. 
This  is  the  evenly  clipped,  furry  caterpillar,  reddish  brown  in 
the  middle  and  black  at  either  end,  which  is  seen  so  commonly 
in  the  autumn  and  early 
spring.  Its  evident  haste 
to  get  somewhere,  in  the 
autumn,  is  almost  pain- 
ful to  witness.  A  nerv- 
ous anxiety  is  evident  in 
every  undulating  move- 

J  J  FIG.  20.  —  Isabella  Tiger  Moth. 

ment  of  its  body,  and  fre- 
quently its  shining  black  head  is  raised  high  in  the  air  and 
moved  from  side  to  side  while  it  gets  its  bearings.  Occasion- 
ally after  such  an  observation  it  evidently  finds  it  is  mistaken 
and  turns  sharply  and  hastens  along  faster  than  ever  in  another 
direction.  So  far  as  we  can  judge,  its  excitement  comes  from 
a  sudden  fear  that  winter  will  overtake  it  before  it  can  find  a 
cosy  protected  corner  in  which  to  pass  its  winter  sleep." 

The  hairy  caterpillars  of  this  and  some  closely  related  moths 
are  often  called  "  woolly  bears  "  in  New  England.  In  other 
regions  this  species  is  named  "  the  hedgehog  caterpillar "  on 
account  of  its  habit  of  curling  up  when  disturbed. 


THE   PARASITE   OF  THE   TIGER   CATERPILLAR. 


DURING  the  spring  months  the  brown  cocoons  of  the  tiger 
caterpillar  may  be  found  under  boards,  logs,  fence-rails,  and 
similar  shelter  beside  fields  and  highways.  It  will  be  worth 
your  while  to  collect  a  dozen  or  more  of  them  and  keep  them 
indoors  in  a  glass-covered  box. 

During  the  next  two  or  three  weeks  the  brown  moths  are 
likely  to  emerge  from  the  cocoons,  but  from  a  few  of  the 

cocoons  there  are  likely  to  come 
forth  one  or  more  entirely  differ- 
ent creatures.  These  are  slender 
bodied  insects,  having  four  trans- 
parent wings.  They  resemble 
bees  or  wasps  in  their  general 
appearance. 

These  peculiar  insects  are  ich- 
neumon flies.  The  way  they  came 
to  be  in  the  cocoon  of  the  tiger 
caterpillar  may  be  explained  thus  : 
Many  weeks  before,  a  four-winged  fly  laid  one  or  more  eggs  in 
the  body  of  the  tiger  caterpillar.  The  egg  soon  hatched  into  a 
tiny  whitish  maggot  which  absorbed 
the  blood  and  other  liquids  in  the 
body  of  the  caterpillar.  It  contin- 
ued to  grow  for  some  time,  and  at 
last,  after  the  caterpillar  had  spun 
its  cocoon,  the  maggot  killed  the 

caterpillar  and  changed  to  a  pupa  inside  the  cocoon.  There  it 
remained  until  the  time  for  another  change.  Then  it  became 
a  full-grown  ichneumon  fly  and  gnawed  a  hole  in  the  cocoon. 


FIG.  21.  —  Ichneumon  Fly. 


FIG.  22.  —  Larva  of  Ichneumon  Fly. 


THE   PARASITE    OF    THE   TIGER    CATERPILLAR.  21 

It  crawled  out  through  the  hole  and  was  ready  to  fly  away. 
In  a  short  time,  if  out-of-doors,  it  would  search  for  other  cater- 
pillars in  order  to  lay  eggs  in  them. 

You  will  see  from  this  account  of  the  life  of  the  ichneumon 
fly  that  it  is  a  parasite.  There  are  many  different  kinds  or 
species  of  these  ichneumon  parasites.  One  of  the  largest  of 
those  which  attack  the  tiger  caterpillar  is  represented  natural 
size  in  Fig.  21. 


THE  MOURNING  CLOAK  OR  ANTIOPA  BUTTERFLY. 

BUTTERFLIES  in  winter  are  rare  objects,  but  by  a  little 
searching  in  the  right  situations  you  may  often  find  specimens 
of  the  beautiful  mourning  cloak  or  antiopa  butterfly.  This 
is  the  large  purple  butterfly  having  a  golden  border  on  the 
upper  surface  of  the  wings,  shown  in  Fig.  23. 


FIG.  23.  —  Mourning  Cloak  or  Antiopa  Butterfly. 

On  the  approach  of  winter  these  butterflies  seek  the  shelter 
of  logs,  boards,  hollow  trees,  wood  piles,  culverts  or  bridges, 
sheds  or  barns.  When  one  of  them  finds  a  shelter  to  its  liking 
it  lights,  generally  with  its  wings  hanging  downward.  Here  it 
composes  itself  for  the  long  sleep  which  knows  no  waking  till 
the  spring  sunshine  calls  it  again  to  life. 

In  such  shelters  protected  from  snow  and  rain,  these  fragile 
creatures  endure  without  injury  the  severe  cold  of  our  northern 
winters. 

22 


THE   MOURNING   CLOAK   OR    ANTIOPA   BUTTERFLY.         23 

When  the  warm  rays  of  the  April  sun  have  penetrated  to  the 
retreats  of  these  butterflies,  they  come  forth  to  flit  slowly  about 
in  sunny  glades,  seeking  shelter  at  night  and  during  stormy 
weather.  Their  beauty  is  likely  to  be  somewhat  faded,  but  the 
early  stroller  in  the  woods  is  gladdened  by  their  sight,  as  they 
sail  through  the  air  above  the  lingering  drifts  of  snow,  or  plun- 
der here  and  there  the  nectar  from  the  first  willow  "  pussies." 

As  spring  advances  the  mourning  cloak  butterflies  visit  the 
fragrant  blooms  of  the  arbutus  and  other  flowers.  From  these 
they  suck  the  nectar,  and  in  return  for  the  sweet  food  they 
carry  the  pollen  from  flower  to  flower. 

When  the  settled  warmth  of  May  has  brought  out  the  leaves 
of  the  trees  and  shrubs,  these  butterflies  lay  their  eggs  in  clus- 
tered rows  upon  the  twigs  of  elm,  willow,  and  poplar.  Then 
the  butterflies,  having  lived  to  what  for  a  butterfly  is  a  green 
old  age,  die  one  by  one. 

About  two  weeks  after  the  eggs  are  laid  they  hatch  into 
tiny  caterpillars.  Each  caterpillar  gnaws  the  eggshell  around 
its  upper  edge  until  a  circular  lid  is  cut  out.  This  is  pushed 
upward  and  the  caterpillar  crawls  out. 

After  thus  hatching,  all  the  caterpillars  from  one  cluster  of 
eggs  crawl  upon  a  neighboring  leaf.  Here  they  "  range  them- 
selves side  by  side  in  compact  rows  "  with  their  heads  toward 
the  edge  of  the  leaf.  Then  they  feed  together  upon  the  green 
substance  of  the  leaf,  but  do  not  eat  the  veiny  framework. 

As  the  caterpillars  grow  they  seek  new  leaves.  In  doing  this 
they  have  to  scatter  more  or  less  because  one  leaf  will  not  sup- 
port them  all.  But  they  remain  close  together  upon  one  twig, 
the  leaves  of  which  suffer  sadly.  For  the  growing  caterpillars 
no  longer  are  content  with  the  green  surface,  but  eat  all  the  leaf 
except  the  larger  veins.  Before  the  caterpillars  stop  eating  even 
the  principal  veins  are  devoured,  and  only  the  midribs  are  left. 


24  STORIES    OF    INSECT    LIFE. 

The  caterpillars  moult  or  cast  their  skins  several  times  during 
their  growth,  huddling  together  on  a  branch  for  this  purpose, 
and  leaving  behind  a  spiny  mass  of  skins  when  the  process  is 
completed. 

The  full-grown  caterpillar  of  the  mourning  cloak  butterfly  is 
represented  natural  size  in  Fig.  24.  Its  general  color  is  dull 
black  ;  the  head  is  more  or  less  tinged  with  bronze.  Begin- 
ning with  the  third  ring  behind  the  head  there  is  along  the 


FIG.  24.  —  Caterpillar  of  Antiopa  Butterfly. 

middle  of  the  back  a  row  of  good-sized  orange  red  spots.     The 
larger  legs  are  of  a  somewhat  similar  color.     Along  each  side 
of  the  back  are  rows  of  blackish  barbed  spines, 
giving  the  caterpillar  a  formidable  appearance. 
These    caterpillars    become    full-grown    in 
June.     Each  then  seeks  some  shelter  where  it 
changes  to  a  chrysalis  of  a  yellowish  brown 
color,  about  an  inch  long  (Fig.  25).     It  remains 
in  this  condition  about  two  weeks.     Then  it 
FIG. 25. -chrysalis of  comes  forth  as  a  butterfly. 

Antiopa  Butterfly.  These  midsummer  butterflies  soon  deposit 
their  eggs  for  another  brood  of  caterpillars  which  go  through 
their  changes  and  become  butterflies  in  September.  It  is  this 
brood  of  mourning  cloaks  that  pass  the  winter  in  sheltered  places. 


THE   CLOUDED   SULPHUR   BUTTERFLY. 

TAKING  the  season  through,  probably  no  butterfly  is  more 
familiar  than  the  common  sulphur  yellow  species,  frequently 
mentioned  .in  books  as  the  philodice  butterfly  (Fig.  26).  It  is 
also  often  spoken  of  as  the  yellow  butterfly,  and  occasionally  is 
called  the  clover  butterfly.  Mr.  Samuel  H.  Scudder,  the  emi- 
nent student  of  butterflies,  has  adopted  for  it  the  name  of 
clouded  sulphur  butterfly,  which  is  a  very  fitting  one. 


PIG.  26.  —Clouded  Sulphur  Butterfly. 

It  is  a  comparatively  simple  matter  to  follow  the  life-history 
of  the  clouded  sulphur  butterfly  through  a  cycle  of  its  exist- 
ence. Place  a  clover  stem  in  a  bottle  of  water,  with  the 
leaves  projecting  upward,  and  put  it  under  some  such  shelter 
as  is  furnished  by  an  open-mouthed  bell-jar  or  a  large  paste- 

25 


26  STORIES    OF    INSECT    LIFE. 

board  box.  Out-of-doors  catch  three  or  four  of  the  yellow 
butterflies,  and  place  them  in  the  vivarium  thus  made,  cover- 
ing the  open  top  with  a  pane  of  glass,  and  putting  inside  a 
dish  of  sweetened  water  for  the  butterflies  to  sip.  In  a  few 
days  you  are  likely  to  find  upon  the  upper  surface  of  many  of 
the  younger  clover  leaves  one  or  more  small  yellowish  white 
eggs,  which  become  brighter  colored  as  they  grow  older. 

Now  remove  the  butterflies  and  watch  the  eggs  daily.  In 
three  or  four  days  from  the  time  they  were  laid  they  become  of 
a  reddish  orange  color ;  and  in  five  or  six  days  they  hatch  into 
tiny  yellowish  or  brownish  caterpillars  that  will  nibble  holes  in 
the  young  clover  leaves.  In  two  or  three  days  each  little 
caterpillar  will  cast  its  skin  and  become  grass  green  in  color. 

The  caterpillars  continue  to  feed  and  grow  for  two  or  three 
weeks,  retaining  the  green  color,  although  they  moult  three 
times  after  the  first  moult  already  mentioned.  They  feed  freely 
upon  fresh  leaves  of  red  or  white  clover,  but  in  confinement 
are  likely  to  cause  more  or  less  trouble  from  their  habit  of 
dropping  from  the  plant  upon  the  least  disturbance,  —  a  habit 
which  doubtless  is  of  the  greatest  value  to  them  under  natural 
conditions,  because  it  affords  so  easily  a  means  of  escaping  from 
enemies  of  many  kinds. 

"  As  the  time  approaches  for  the  change  to  the  chrysalis," 
writes  Mr.  W.  H.  Edwards,  "  the  larva  seeks  the  protection  of 
some  stem,  bit  of  bark,  or  fence  rail,  spins  a  button  of  pink 
silk  and  a  light  web  over  the  surface  of  the  object,  fastens  its 
hind  feet  in  the  one  and  its  fore  feet  in  the  other,  and  hangs 
with  its  back  curved  downward  or  outward.  Gradually  the 
markings  of  the  body  become  obliterated,  lost  in  uniform  green. 
In  this  condition  the  larva  rests  for  some  hours,  then  rousing 
itself  spins  a  loop  of  several  threads  from  the  base  of  the  feet 
on  one  side  to  a  like  point  on  the  other,  instinctively  knowing 


THE  CLOUDED   SULPHUR  BUTTERFLY.  27 

just  how  to  make  the  threads ;  and  presently,  seizing  the  loop 
in  its  jaws,  manages  to  throw  it  partly  over  the  head,  and  by  a 
great  effort  works  it  entirely  over  and  down  the  back  to  the 
fourth  segment,  and  stops  exhausted.  Some  hours  pass  with- 
out any  motion,  when  suddenly  the  skin  splits  on  the  back  of 
the  anterior  segments  and  is  rapidly  shuffled  off,  exposing  the 
chrysalis  which  rests  secure  on  its  girdle  of  silk."  About  ten 
days  later  the  butterfly  emerges.  Except  in  the  far  north, 
there  appear  to  be  three  broods  of  the  butterflies  each  season. 

These  butterflies  may  often  be  seen  during  summer  gather- 
ing in  great  flocks  by  muddy  pools  in  the  road,  where  they 
come  to  drink.  They  also  visit  clover  blossoms  and  many 
other  flowers  to  sip  the  nectar  through  their  slender  tongues. 


AN  AMBUSHED  BANDIT. 

EVERY  country  boy  knows  that  while  many  insects  feed  upon 
the  leaves  and  fruits  of  plants,  there  are  some  which  feed  upon 
other  insects.  Sometimes  they  roam  about  in  search  of  prey, 
and  sometimes  they  lie  in  wait  in  cunningly  devised  traps  to 
ensnare  their  victims. 

Of  those  having  the  latter  habit  perhaps  none  is  more  curious 
than  the  ant-lion  (Fig.  27),  an  insect  which  gets  its  name 
because  it  feeds  on  ants.  Should  you  see  one  of  these  ant- 
lions  on  a  table  or  other  smooth  surface,  you  would  think  it 
one  of  the  clumsiest  creatures  you  ever  saw.  It  is 
so  slow  and  awkward  in  its  movements  that  one 
would  think  it  doomed  to  starve  if  its  living 
depends  on  catching  ants. 

But  if  you  will  put  the  ant-lion  upon  the  surface 
of  a  loose  sandy  soil  you  will  soon  find  that  it  is 
able  to  take  care  of  itself.  It  has  a  method  of  its  own  that 
enables  it  to  get  a  living  in  spite  of  its  clumsiness. 

Soon  after  you  put  the  ant-lion  on  the  ground  you  will  see 
it  begin  to  dig  a  hole.  "  How  can  it  dig,"  you  ask,  "  without 
shovel  or  spade  ?  "  Look  and  see  the  flattened  head  which  the 
creature  works  beneath  some  of  the  sandy  soil.  Then  see  the 
head  jerked  suddenly  upward,  so  that  the  sand  on  top  of  it  is 
sent  flying  some  distance  away.  The  insect  is  no  mean  shov- 
eler,  and  before  long  it  excavates  in  this  curious  way  a  cone- 
shaped  pit  an  inch  or  more  in  depth  and  as  steep  as  the  sand 
will  lie  (Figs.  28  and  29). 

When  this  strange  pitfall  is  finished,  the  ant-lion  buries 
itself  in  the  sand  at  the  bottom.  The  body  is  concealed,  except 
part  of  the  head  and  the  immense  jaws,  which  are  spread  wide 

28 


AN    AMBUSHED   BANDIT. 


29 


open.     What  is  the  creature  waiting  for?     Were  you  to  watch 
patiently  you  would  see  an  ant  roaming  about  over  the  sand 


FIG.  28.— Ant-lion  and  its  Trap. 

in  search  of  food.     Suddenly  it  comes  to  the  brink  of  the  cone- 
like  trap,  the  sand  gives  away  beneath  its  feet,  and  it  falls  into 


FIG.  29.  —  Trapping  of  the  Ants. 

the  jaws  of  the  ambushed  bandit  at  the  bottom.     There  the 
victim  is  soon  disposed   of.     It  is  caught  and  killed  by  the 


30  STORIES  OF  INSECT  LIFE. 

jaws  projecting  from  the  sand,  and  its  juices  are  sucked  into 
the  stomach  of  the  ant-lion.  Afterwards  the  shrunken  skin  is 
thrown  out  of  the  pit  by  the  jerking  motion  of  the  head. 

When  it  has  thus  disposed  of  one  victim,  the  ant-lion  returns 
to  its  hiding-place  to  await  the  coming  of  another. 

Sometimes  the  sand  composing  the  trap  is  so  damp  that 
the  ant  after  falling  part  way  down  recovers  its  foothold 
and  starts  to  climb  out.  Then  ensues  an  exciting  contest. 
The  ant-lion  tries  to  prevent  the  escape  by  digging  away  the 
sand  beneath  the  victim  and  jerking  the  particles  upwards.  It 
often  looks  as  if  the  ant-lion  tries  to  hit  the  escaping  prisoner 
with  the  sand.  Sometimes  it  succeeds  in  the  attempt. 


THE  LIFE-HISTORY  OF  THE  ANT-LION. 

LIKE  most  other  insects,  the  ant-lion  passes  through  four 
distinct  stages  of  existence ;  namely,  (1)  the  egg ;  (2)  the 
larva  ;  (3)  the  pupa  or  chrysalis  ;  and  (4)  the  adult  or  imago. 
The  stage  we  have  been  discussing  is  that  of  the  larva,  which 
corresponds  to  the  caterpillar  stage  of  the  butterflies. 

It  is  in  this  larval  stage  that  the  insect  grows  in  size.  It 
is  supposed  that  the  ant-lion  lives  as  a  larva  for  two  years :  then 
it  buries  itself  in  the  sand 
and  spins  around  itself  a 
silken  case,  called  the 
cocoon,  which  has  many 
particles  of  sand  mixed 
with  its  texture.  Within 
this  cocoon  the  ant-lion 

PIG.  30.  —  Adult  Ant-lion. 

casts  its  skin  and  changes 

to  the  quiet  pupa  state.  It  remains  in  this  condition  a  few 
weeks;  then  another  change  takes  place,  and  there  emerges 
from  the  cocoon  a  large  four-winged  insect  (Fig.  30)  looking 
something  like  our  common  dragon  flies,  and  very  different 
from  the  larval  ant>-lion  by  which  the  cocoon  was  made. 

In  this  winged  condition  the  insect  has  become  an  adult  and 
has  reached  the  highest  stage  of  its  existence.  Its  career  is 
now  nearly  at  an  end.  It  has  little  to  do  except  to  deposit 
eggs  in  the  sand.  These  eggs  will  hatch  into  another  brood 
of  ant-lions  which  will  have  a  similar  history. 

Ant-lions  are  common  over  a  large  part  of  the  United  States. 
They  are  most  abundant  in  the  south,  but  occur  in  many  of  the 
northern  states.  In  Illinois  and  Florida  I  have  found  them 

31 


32  STOEIES  OF  INSECT  LIFE. 

abundant  in  the  sandy  soil  beneath  overhanging  ledges  or  by 
the  sides  of  fallen  logs. 

In  many  localities  these  insects  are  called  "doodle  bugs," 
because  when  boys  put  their  mouths  close  to  the  pits  and  call 
"  doodle,  doodle ".  repeatedly,  the  little  creatures,  probably 
thinking  some  insect  is  at  hand,  come  to  the  surface.  Some 
charming  verses  concerning  this  practice  have  been  written 
by  James  Whitcomb  Riley. 

You  may  easily  study  the  habits  of  ant-lions  by  placing  them 
in  pans  or  dishes  holding  three  or  four  inches  of  dry  sand. 
Feed  them  with  ants  or  other  wingless  insects.  When  you  are 
satisfied  with  watching  them,  put  the  ant-lions  where  they  can 
get  their  own  living  and  do  not  cruelly  leave  them  to  starve. 


THE  MAY  BEETLES  OR  JUNE  BUGS. 


DURING  the  warm  evenings  of  May  and  June,  lighted  rooms 
are  frequently  invaded  by  the  great  clumsy  May  beetles  or. 
June  bugs  (Fig.  31 )  which  fly  through  the  open  doors  and 
windows,  being  attracted  by  the  light.  On  such  evenings 
by  careful  searching  out-of-doors 
one  is  likely  to  find  these  beetles 
feeding  upon  the  leaves  of  apple, 
cherry,  oak,  elm,  hickory,  and 
various  other  fruit  and  shade 
trees.  These  insects  fly  and  take 
their  food  at  night,  remaining 
quiet  during  the  day. 

The  life-history  of  these  May 
beetles  may  be  briefly  summa- 
rized in  this  way :  The  female 
beetles  deposit  their  minute  whit- 
ish eggs  among  the  roots  of  grasses.  The  eggs  soon  hatch  into 
small,  brown-headed  grubs  or  larvae  that  feed  upon  the  roots  of 
grass  and  other  herbage.  They  increase  slowly  in  size,  bur- 
rowing about  in  the  earth  to  get 
food,  and  going  down  deeper  when 
winter  approaches.  The  next 
spring  they  come  near  the  surface 
again  and  continue  to  feed  through- 
out the  second  season.  In  autumn 
they  become  full-grown  and  form 
oval  cells  in  the  earth  in  which  they  change  to  pupae,  again  to 
transform,  generally  before  winter,  into  beetles  that  remain  in 

33 


FIG.  31.  —  Adult  May  Beetle. 


FIG.  32.  —  White  Grub. 


34  STORIES    OF   INSECT   LIFE. 

the  cells  until  the  following  spring.     They  then  work  their 
way  out  of  the  ground  and  fly  freely  about. 

The  larvae  of  these  beetles  are  the  well-known  white  grubs 
or  "  grub  worms "  (Fig.  32)  so  often  found  in  gardens  and 
plowed  lands.  They  are  large,  roundish  worms  with  the  body 
coiled  in  the  middle,  having  the  head  and  its  organs  of  a  deep 
brown  color,  and  three  pairs  of  brown  legs  attached  to  the 
body  just  back  of  the  head. 


THE   COMMON  POTATO   BEETLE. 

NEARLY  every  child  who  has  seen  potatoes  growing  in  fields 
or  gardens  has  seen  the  brown  striped  beetles,  so  commonly 
called  "potato  bugs,"  represented  in  Fig.  33,  d.  Those  who 
have  lived  upon  farms  will  know  that  these  beetles  may  be 
found  in  the  potato  field  soon  after  the  plants  come  up,  eating 
the  tender  leaves,  and  laying  upon  the  under  surfaces  of  the 


FIG.  33.  —Transformations  of  the  Colorado  Potato  Beetle. 


latter  masses  of  orange-colored  eggs  (Fig.  33,  a).  These  eggs 
are  sometimes  deposited  also  upon  the  leaves  of  grasses,  smart- 
weed,  or  other  plants  in  the  field.  A  week  or  more  later  they 
hatch  into  little  grubs  that  feed  upon  the  leaves,  gradually 
increasing  in  size  (6,  £>,  b)  and  occasionally  moulting  or  shed- 
ding their  skins.  In  a  few  weeks  they  finish  their  larval 
growth ;  they  then  descend  to  the  ground,  where  just  beneath 

36 


36  STORIES    OF    INSECT    LIFE. 

the  soil  surface  or  under  rubbish  above  it  they  change  to  pupge, 
emerging  as  perfect  beetles  about  ten  days  later.  The  number 
of  broods  varies  with  the  latitude,  there  being  from  two  to 
four  each  season. 

This  insect  was  originally  a  native  of  the  Rocky  Mountain 
region,  where  it  fed  upon  a  wild  plant  related  to  the  cultivated 
potato.  When  the  garden  patches  of  the  settlers  extended  to  its 
habitat,  so  that  there  were  potatoes  growing  at  short  distances 
apart  throughout  the  region  between  the  Rocky  Mountains  and 
the  Atlantic  Ocean,  these  beetles  began  feeding  upon  the  new 
food  plant  and  rapidly  spread  eastward,  until  within  a  few 
years  from  the  time  they  started  they  had  reached  the  eastern 
states.  Then  they  were  carried  to  various  European  countries 
by  means  of  steamboats  and  sailing  vessels. 

These  potato  beetles  have  a  few  enemies  to  contend  against. 
Their  eggs  are  greedily  devoured  by  ladybird  beetles  and  their 
larvae,  and  the  other  stages  are  eaten  by  the  Rose-breasted 
Grosbeak  and  perhaps  a  few  other  birds. 


THE  QUEER  CASES  ON  THE  WILLOW  TWIGS. 

THKOUGH  the  winter  and  early  spring,  a  sharp-eyed  boy  or 
girl  may  frequently  find  on  the  bare  twigs  of  willow  shrubs, 

curious    cylindrical  cases    of   a   some- 
what  silken  texture,  attached  where  a 
(W|  '     leaf  has  been.     The  shape  of   one  of 

m  these  cases  is  shown   in  Fig.  34. 

FIG.  34.— Winter  Case  of  Viceroy  If    you    examine    SUch    a   Case  closely 

Caterpillar.  _      ..  . 

you  will  find  that  it   is  indeed  made 
out  of  a  leaf.     You  can  see  the   long 
midrib    projecting   beyond    the    round 
part,  and  the   shape  of   the  leaf   stem 
may   be    traced 
below  the  silky 
covering.    With 
a    little     study 
you      will     see 
that    the    blade 

of  a  leaf  has  been  rolled  into 
a  tube  and  its  edges  sewed 
together. 

If  you  will  carefully  open  one 
of  these  cases  you  will  be  likely 
to  find  on  the  inside  the  cun- 
ning creature  that  has  so  deftly 
made  a  house  for  itself  out  of 

a  leaf,  that  Otherwise  WOUld  long       FIG.  35.- Caterpillar  resting  on  Winter 

since  have  fallen  to  the  ground.  Case- 

It  is  a  little  brownish  caterpillar,  more  or  less  mottled  with 

37 


38 


STORIES  OF  INSECT  LIFE. 


black   and   white,   and   having    many  hairs    and  tubercles  on 
its  body. 

Should  you  be  able  to 
watch  one  of  these  queer 
willow  cases  when  the 
"  pussies "  are  appearing 
you  might  see  the  caterpillar, 
recalled  to  life  by  the  spring 
sunshine,  crawl  out  back- 
ward from  its  winter  home. 


FIG.  36.  —  Viceroy  Caterpillar. 

Then  it  searches  for  one  of  the 
willow  "pussies"  and 
nibbles  at  it  to  satisfy 
the  hunger  brought  on 
by  its  long  fast.  It 
continues  to  feed  upon 
the  "  pussies  "  day  after 
day  until  the  leaves 
appear.  Then  it  eats 
them. 

The  caterpillar  is 
likely  to  remain  near 
the  case  in  which  it  has 
spent  the  winter,  and 
to  return  to  it  when  not 
eating.  It  then  often 
rests  motionless  upon  it 
for  hours  during  the 
day.  Its  mottled  colors 
render  it  inconspicuous, 
or  make  it  look  like 
the  droppings  of  a  bird. 

FIG.  37.  —  Chrysalis  of  Viceroy  Butterfly.         One       of        these       Cater- 


THE  QUEER  CASES  ON  THE  WILLOW  TWIGS.      39 

pillars   thus  resting  on    its    case   is   represented   in  Fig.    35. 

The  caterpillars  feed  most  freely  after  dark,  when  they  are 
not  afraid  of  being  seen  by  birds.  They  then  leave  their 
resting-places  and  crawl  to  the  neighboring  leaves. 

During  May  the  caterpillars  become  full-grown,  when  they 
look  like  Fig.  36.  They  then  change  to  mottled  brown  and 
gray  chrysalids,  first  fastening  themselves  to  the  branches  of 
the  willow  shrubs. 

The  chrysalis  of  the  viceroy  butterfly  is  represented  in  Fig. 
37.  It  is  generally  a  little  less  than  an  inch  long,  and  has  a 
peculiar,  rounded,  wedge-like  hump  near  the  middle  of  the  back. 


FIG.  38.  —Viceroy  Butterfly. 


During  June  there  emerges  from  the  chrysalis  a  handsome 
reddish  brown  butterfly,  streaked  and  veined  with  black.  This 
is  the  viceroy  butterfly,  represented  natural  size  in  Fig.  38. 

The  viceroy  butterflies  that  have  thus  appeared  in  June  flit 
leisurely  about  in  the  summer  sunshine,  sipping  the  nectar  of 
flowers  and  searching  out  willow  and  poplar  shrubs  or  trees. 
Having  found  these,  the  butterflies  deposit  their  eggs  on  the 


40  STOBIES    OF   INSECT    LIFE. 

tips  of  the  pointed  leaves,  generally  on  the  upper  surface, 
and  usually  only  one  egg  on  a  leaf. 

A  week  later  the  eggs  hatch  into  tiny  caterpillars,  that  first 
eat  up  the  eggshells  from  which  they  have  emerged.  Then 
they  feed  upon  the  green  surface  of  the  leaves.  As  they  grow 
older  they  devour  all  but  the  midribs  of  the  leaves  attacked. 

During  their  caterpillar  growth  these  insects  moult  four  or 
five  times,  eating  the  cast-off  skin  each  time.  Early  in  July 
they  change  to  chrysalids,  and  a  little  later  come  forth  as 
butterflies. 

You  can  easily  rear  any  of  these  caterpillars  that  you  may 
find,  by  placing  them  in  a  glass-covered  box,  having  a  little 
moist  earth  in  the  bottom.  Feed  them  every  day  with  fresh 
willow  leaves  dipped  in  water. 


THE   HISTORY   OF  THE   DOBSON. 

No  place  is  more  attractive  for  a  spring  excursion  than  the 
rock-bound  shores  of  a  creek  or  river.  On  such 
an  outing  a  sharp-eyed  boy  will  often  see  large 
white  patches  flattened  against  the  gray  rocks 
hanging  over  the  water.  Sometimes  single 
circles  will  stand  out  in  bold  relief,  while  in 
other  places  dozens  of  white  splashes  may  be  crowded  together 
side  by  side  to  form  irregular  masses  (Fig.  40). 


9. —  Egg  Mass. 


FIG.  40.  —  Egg  Masses  on  a  Bock. 

If  you  examine  one  of  these  patches  (Fig.  39)  close  at  hand, 
you  will  find  that  it  is  a  thin,  wafer-like  circle,  slightly  swollen 
in  the  middle.  The  outer  surface  is  smooth.  The  circle  is 

41 


42 


STORIES    OF    INSECT   LIFE. 


FIG.  41.  —  Young  Dob- 
son,  much  enlarged. 


composed  of  a  dry,  brittle,  whitish  substance,  beneath  which 

are   several   layers   of   minute,  yellowish  white   eggs  pressed 

closely  together  side  by  side.     If   you  have 

the  patience  to  count  the   eggs  in  a  single 

disc    you  will  find   two  or   three    thousand 

of  them. 

Should  you  be  so  fortunate  as  to  watch 

the  hatching  of   these    eggs    some    moonlit 

summer's  night,  you  would   see  myriads  of 

curious  little   creatures  burst  from  the  egg 

mass  and  drop  to  the  water  below.      Each 

one  is  nearly  a  fifth  of  an  inch  long,  and  has 

a  large  head,  six  long  legs,  and  a  pair  of 

thread-like  projections  on  each  ring  of  the 
body  (Fig.  41).  As  soon  as  they  reach  the 
water  they  seek  the  shelter  of  stones  and 
pebbles.  Soon  they  begin  to  search  for 
little  water  worms  of  almost  any  kind 
weaker  than  themselves.  This  search 
they  keep  up  as  long  as  they  live  in  the 
water. 

These  little  creatures  are  young  "  dob- 
sons."  Even  in  this  early  stage  they 
must  prove  formidable  foes  to  the  soft 
bodies  of  the  young  May  flies,  as  well  as 
of  the  larvae  of  stone  flies,  dragon  flies, 
and  the  various  other  water-loving  insects 
upon  which  the  dobsons  feed.  As  the 
days  pass  they  grow  gradually  in  size, 
and  are  able  to  prey  upon  larger  and 

FIG.  42.— Fuii-grown  Dob-    larger  insects  to  satisfy  their  increasing 

son,  natural  size. 

appetites. 


THE   HISTORY   OF   THE  DOBSON.  43 

At  long  intervals  the  dobsons  moult.  Apparently  they  only 
shed  their  skins  about  six  times  during  the  three  years  of  their 
existence  in  the  water.  Except  for  their  increase  in  size  there 
is  little  change  in  their  general  appearance  during  this  period. 

I  am  sure  many  boys  will  recognize  the  picture  of  the  full- 
grown  dobson  larva  shown  in  Fig.  42.  These  larvae  are  also 
often  called  "  crawlers "  by  fishermen.  They  are  frequently 
used  for  bait  in  fishing.  As  will  be  seen,  the  head  is  large  and 
broad,  and  is  provided  with  a  pair  of  formidable  jaws.  There 
are  six  long,  strong  legs  on  the  three  rings  of  the  body  just 
behind  the  head.  On  each  of  the  hinder  rings  of  the  body 
is  a  pair  of  tube-like  threads,  by  means  of  which  the  insect 
breathes  the  air  in  the  water. 

The  dobsons  prefer  to  live  in  the  rapids  of  rivers  and  creeks, 
where  the  water  courses  swiftly  over  the  rocks.  They  ma}^ 
often  be  caught  by  disturbing  loose  stones  in  such  streams, 
having  some  one  else  hold  a  net  below  so  that  the  dobsons  will 
be  carried  into  it  by  the  rapid  current. 


THE  DOBSON  BECOMES  A  HELLGRAMITE. 

IN  the  spring  or  early  summer  of  the  third  season  of  its 
existence  the  dobson  leaves  the  stream  in  which  heretofore  it 
has  developed,  crawls  up  the  bank  and  seeks  the  shelter  of 
some  log  or  stone  lying  above  the  water 
level.  In  the  soil  beneath  this  it  hollows 
out  an  oval  cell,  in  which  it  generally  lies 
a  week  or  more  before  changing  to  the 
pupa  state.  Finally  it  transforms  to  the 

F».«.-I*P.  of  Dobson.      ^^  (F[S-  43). 

Compared  with  its  previous  form,  the 

most  notable  change  that  has  taken  place  in  the  dobson  is  due 
to  the  absence  of  the  threads  along  the  sides  of  the  body  and 
the  presence  of  the  wing  pads  upon  its  back.  In  these  the 
enormous  wings  of  the  adult  insect  are  to  be  developed. 

The  dobson  remains  in  this  pupa  state  two  weeks.  Then  it 
changes  again  and  the  adult  hellgramite  appears.  This  also 
is  a  curious-looking  creature.  It  is  of  a  dull  gray  color.  The 
head  is  large  and  furnished  with  prominent  eyes  and  long  feel- 
ers or  antennce.  The  legs  are  long  and  stout,  and  the  wings  of 
immense  size.  They  are  membranous  with  a  network  of  veins. 
When  at  rest  they  project  some  distance  beyond  the  end  of  the 
body.  The  males  have  a  pair  of  very  large  pincher-like  jaws 
(Fig.  44). 

These  adult  hellgramites  are  nocturnal  insects.  They 
remain  at  rest  during  the  day  in  such  shelter  as  they  can 
find,  and  fly  about  at  night.  Occasionally  one  will  come 
into  a  lighted  room  through  an  open  window.  Sometimes 

44 


THE   DOBSON   BECOMES   A   HELLGRAMITE. 


45 


they  may  be  seen  in  the  evening  flying  about  electric  street 
lamps. 

The  female  hellgramites 
deposit  their  eggs  in  the  cir- 
cular masses  upon  the  sides 
of  rocks  in  running  streams. 
They  select  such  situations 
that  the  little  dobsons  when 
hatching  can  drop  directly 
into  the  water.  Some  such 
egg  masses  deposited  on  a 
rock  in  the  middle  of  a  New 
England  river  are  shown  in 
the  photograph  reproduced 
in  Fig.  40. 

In  regions  like  the  Mis- 
sissippi Valley  where  rocks 
are  less  abundant  than  in 
the  eastern  states  these  egg 
masses  are  deposited  upon 
the  large  leaves  of  sycamore 
and  other  trees  overhanging 

the  water.  FIG.  44.  —  Hellgramite.    Male,  natural  size. 


THE   APHIS   LION. 

DID  you  ever  see  some  little  threads  with  knobs  on  their 
tips  sticking  up  from  the  surface  of  a  twig  or  leaf  ?     They  look 
like   Fig.  45,  and  may  readily  be  found  during 
summer  upon  a  great  variety  of  plants. 

If  you  look  at  the  threads  closely,  you  will  find 
that  the  knobs  are  white  and  nearly  egg-shaped. 
Under  a  hand  lens  you  will  see  that  the  egg- 
shaped  bodies  differ  from  the  threads  upon  the 
ends  of  which  they  are  fastened. 

These  white  knobs  are  the  eggs  of  a  pretty  four-winged 
insect  called  the  golden-eye,  or  lace-winged  fly.  The  threads 
are  simply  stalks  which  hold  them  up  above  the  surface  out  of 
the  reach  of  ladybird  beetles  and  other  insects  that  eat  such  eggs. 
Should  you  be  able  to  watch  one  of  these  groups  of  knobbed 
threads  for  some  time,  you  would  be  likely  to  see  a  curious 
little  larva  hatch  from  each  of  the  eggs.  The  time  of  hatching 
is  likely  to  vary,  some  emerging  from  the  eggs  much  earlier 
than  others. 

The  larvae  which  have  thus  been  cradled  in  the  air  are  called 
aphis  lions,  from  their  habit  of  feeding  upon  aphides  or  plant 
lice.  Soon  after  hatching,  they  wander  over  the  plant  in  search 
of  prey.  Almost  any  small  insect  will  answer  for  this  purpose, 
but  plant  lice  form  the  principal  item  in  the  daily  bill  of  fare. 
Each  aphis  lion  has  a  large  pair  of  jaws  projecting  forward 
from  the  head.  These  jaws  are  so  constructed  that  each  is  a 
hollow  sucking  tube,  through  which  the  life-blood  of  the  vic- 
tim is  drawn,  as  well  as  an  organ  for  seizing  and  piercing  the 
prey. 


THE   APHIS    LION. 


47 


FIG.  46.  —  Aphis  Lion  eating  Insect, 
enlarged. 


Like  other  larvae,  the  aphis  lions  cast  their  skins  occasionally 

as  they  increase  in  size.  They  be- 
come fully  developed  in  about  two 
weeks.  They  are  then  nearly  an 
inch  long,  and  of  the  form  shown  in 
Figs.  46  and  47.  The  different  spe- 
cies vary  considerably  in  color,  but 
most  of  the  aphis  lions  are  of  mottled 
shades  of  blue,  brown,  black,  and  white. 

Should  you  examine  under  a  lens  the  long, 
sucking  jaws  of  the  aphis  lion,  you  would  find 
that  each  jaw  consists  of  two  parts,  each  with  a 
groove  running  along  the  inside,  so  that  when 
the  parts  are  fitted  together  the  tube  is  formed. 
The  full-grown  aphis  lion  prepares  for  the 
change  to  the  pupa  state  by  rolling  itself  to- 
gether compactly.  Then  it  spins  from  the  pos- 
terior end  of  its  body  a  spherical  silken  cocoon, 
so  small  that  one  must  wonder  how  so  large  a 
larva  stays  inside  of  it.  The  completed  cocoon 

is  shown  in  Fig.  48.  It  is  about  the  size  of  a 
small,  smooth  pea,  and  is  of  a  pearly  white 
color,  generally  mottled  in  places  with  black. 
Within  this  tiny  silken  ball  the  larva  be- 
comes a  pupa.  A  short  time  afterwards  the 
pupa  gnaws  a  circular  cap  out  of  the  cocoon 
and  escapes  into  the  outer  world.  Then  it 

FIG.  48. —Cocoon,  . 

enlarged.          changes  into  an  adult  lace-winged  ny. 


FIG.  47.  —Back 
View  of  Aphis 
Lion,  enlarged. 


THE   GOLDEN-EYE,   OR   LACE-WINGED    FLY. 

THE  insect  which  comes  out  of  the  pupa  is  very  different 
from  the  larva  that  went  into  it.  It  is  a  delicate-looking  crea- 
ture a  little  over  half  an  inch  long,  of  a  pale  green  or  bluish 
green  color,  with  beautiful  golden  eyes  standing  out  promi- 
nently on  the  sides  of  the  head.  From  the  head  also  project 
two  long  and  slender  feelers  or  antennae.  Under  a  lens  these 
are  seen  to  be  clothed  with  many  fine  hairs  (Fig.  49). 


FIG.  49.  —  Lace-winged  Fly,  enlarged. 

The  part  of  the  body  directly  behind  the  head  —  called  the 
pro-thorax  —  is  wide  and  flattened.     It  bears  a  single  pair  of 
legs.     The  next  part  of  the  body  —  the  rest  of  the  thorax  — 
bears  two  pairs  of  wings  and  two  pairs  of  legs. 

The  legs  are  long  and  slender,  and  of  much  the  same  color 
as  the  body.  At  the  tip  of  each  foot  are  two  recurved  claws. 

The  wings  are  very  large  in  proportion  to  the  size  of  the 
body.  They  are  composed  of  a  thin,  transparent  membrane, 
stretched  between  a  beautiful  network  of  delicate,  greenish 
veins,  which  bear  rows  of  brownish  hairs.  The  front  and  hind 
wings  are  very  similiar  in  shape,  the  hind  ones  being  some- 
what smaller. 

48 


THE  GOLDEN-EYE,  OR  LACE-WINGED  FLY.        49 

When  the  lace-wing  is  at  rest  the  wings  are  folded  in  a 
nearly  vertical  position,  so  that  they  project  beyond  the  hind 
end  of  the  body. 

The  female  lace-wings  deposit  their  eggs  on  the  tips  of  long 
stalks.  The  stalk  is  drawn  out  from  a  liquid  secretion,  which 
hardens  on  exposure  to  the  air,  and  the  egg  is  then  glued  upon 
the  tip.  By  thus  placing  the  eggs  up  above  the  leaf  surface 
the  insect  saves  them  from  being  eaten  by  ladybird  beetles  and 
other  insects.  A  week  or  more  after  they  are  deposited  the 
eggs  hatch  into  young  aphis  lions  which,  like  their  namesakes 
of  the  desert,  go  about  seeking  what  they  may  devour. 

While  the  beauty  of  the  color  and  structure  of  the  lace- 
winged  fly  appeals  strongly  to  the  eye  of  the  nature  lover,  the 
insect  has  a  very  different  effect  upon  his  nose,  for  these  deli- 
cate creatures  emit  probably  the  most  disagreeable  odor  of  any 
insect.  It  is  worse,  to  many  minds  at  least,  than  that  given 
off  by  the  bedbug  and  its  allies,  or  even  the  noisome  pestilence 
of  the  carrion  beetles.  How  so  small  an  insect  reared  from 
infancy  upon  a  cleanly  diet  of  the  juices  of  freshly  killed 
insects,  spending  its  resting  period  in  a  "glistening  white 
cocoon  which  looks  like  a  large  seed-pearl,"  and  feeding  little, 
if  at  all,  in  its  adult  state,  can  develop  so  disagreeable  a  stench 
is  indeed  a  wonder.  The  purpose  of  the  odor  is  doubtless  to 
protect  the  lace-wings  from  the  attacks  of  birds  and  other 
enemies. 


THE   WHITE  EGG  AMIDST  THE   PLANT  LICE. 


DURING  June  few  insects  are  more  abundant  than  the 
aphides  or  plant  lice.  These  are  small,  green,  brown,  or  black 
insects  that  may  be  found  crowded  on  the  young  twigs  of 
apple,  cherry,  and  other  trees.  They  are  very  similar  to  the 
little  "  green  fly  "  so  often  injurious  to  house  plants. 

By  a  little  searching  you  may  often  see  in  the  midst  of  these 
colonies  of  plant  lice  on  the  branches  of  trees  and  shrubs  a  few 
small  white  eggs,  much  longer  than  wide.  Sometimes  the  sur- 
face of  these  eggs  is  smooth,  but  often  the  eggs  are  covered 
with  distinct  raised  lines. 

These  are  the  eggs  of  the  bright-colored,  two-winged  flies 
called  syrphid  flies.  A  few  days  after  they  are  laid  the  eggs 
hatch  into  little  footless  maggots,  somewhat  the  shape  of  a 
very  long  triangle. 

At  the  head  end,  each  of  these  maggots  is  furnished  with 

a  pointed  beak.  By 
means  of  this  beak  the 
young  larva  pierces  the 
body  of  the  nearest 
plant  louse.  It  then 
generally  holds  its  vic- 
tim up  in  the  air  while 
it  sucks  the  life-blood. 

The  plant  lice  are 
small,  and  a  single  one 
does  not  long  satisfy  the  appetite  of  the  syrphid  larva.  As 
soon  as  the  first  victim  is  sucked  dry  its  shriveled  skin  is  cast 
aside  and  the  fatal  dagger  is  thrust  into  the  side  of  another. 

50 


FIG.  50.  —  Syrphid  Fly :   a,  Larva ;   6,  Pupa  Case 
c,  Fly.    Straight  Lines  show  the  Natural  Size. 


THE   WHITE   EGG   AMIDST   THE   PLANT   LICE.  51 

Thus  day  after  day  the  slaughter  continues,  the  syrphid 
moving  slowly  onward  as  it  disposes  of  the  aphides  immediately 
before  it,  and  leaving  in  its  path  the  shrunken  remains  of  its 
unfortunate  victims,  scores  of  which  are  required  for  each  day's 
subsistence. 

The  syrphid  larva  casts  its  own  skin  occasionally  as  it 
increases  slowly  in  size,  attaining  when  full-grown  a  length  of 
from  one-half  to  three-quarters  of  an  inch.  At  this  time  the 
larvae  are  of  the  general  form  represented  in  Fig.  50,  a,  and 
are  of  various  mottled  shades  of  brown,  yellow,  red,  and  white. 

The  larva  attains  its  full  growth  a  few  weeks  after  hatching 
from  the  egg.  It  is  then  ready  to  change  to  the  pupa  state. 
To  accomplish  this  the  lower  surface  of  its  body  becomes 
firmly  attached  to  the  twig  or  leaf  upon  which  it  is  resting ; 
the  outer  skin  then  hardens  and  turns  brown,  while  inside  the 
larva  shrinks  away  from  it  and  becomes  a  pupa.  The  hardened 
outer  skin  which  encloses  and  protects  the  pupa  is  called  the 
puparium.  The  insect  remains  in  this  quiet  condition  ten 
days  or  more  ;  then  the  pupa  changes  to  a  two-winged  fly, 
which  pushes  open  a  lid  at  the  larger  end  of  the  puparium  and 
escapes.  Such  an  empty  puparium  is  represented  in  Fig.  50,  b. 
The  adult  fly  is  a  sunshine-loving  creature  that  flies  very  rap- 
idly, and  freely  visits  flowers  in  search  of  nectar  and  pollen. 


THE  FLOWER   SPIDER. 

DURING  summer  throughout  most  of  the  United  States  one 
can  scarcely  study  flowers  in  the  field  an  hour  or  two  without 
finding  one  or  more  blossoms  in  which  there  is  a  small  crab- 
shaped  spider,  of  a  white  or  yellow  color,  resting  upon  the 
petals  or  concealed  within  other  parts  of  the  flower.  Often, 
though  by  no  means  always,  the  white  spider  will  be  found 
upon  the  white  blossoms  and  the  yellow  spider  upon  the  yel- 
low blossoms,  so  that  the  color  resemblance  renders  the  flat 
expanded  body  inconspicuous.  As  the  season  passes  the  flow- 
ers change,  and  these  spiders  choose  new  blossoms  for  their 
abodes.  In  early  summer  you  may  find  them  upon  the  butter- 
cups and  daisies,  while  later  in  the  season,  thistles,  sunflowers, 
and  other  large  blossoms  are  favorite  habitations. 

Not  infrequently  you  may  see  a  butterfly  resting  quietly 
upon  a  flower.  You  approach  cautiously,  thinking  to  grasp  it 
in  your  hand  before  it  awakes  from  its  nap.  Suddenly  you 
catch  it  between  thumb  and  finger  and  hold  it  up  to  find  one 
of  these  spiders  attached  to  its  body.  There  is  the  secret  of 
the  easy  capture  :  the  butterfly  is  dead  and  was  furnishing  a 
meal  to  the  spider.  There  also  is  the  explanation  of  the  spi- 
ders' presence  on  the  flowers  :  they  are  lying  in  wait  for  the 
butterflies  and  other  insects  that  come  to  sip  the  nectar  or 
nibble  the  pollen  of  the  blossoms.  They  lie  motionless  for 
hours,  until  the  unwary  victim  comes  within  reach  ;  then  there 
is  a  sudden  spring  and  the  insect  is  captured.  The  spider 
sucks  the  juices  of  the  body  and  drops  the  juiceless  fragments 
to  the  ground.  A  great  variety  of  insects  are  captured  in  this 
way,  flies  and  butterflies  seeming  to  be  the  most  numerous 

victims. 

62 


THE   FLOWER    SPIDER. 


53 


These  spiders  belong  to  the  family  called  the  crab  spiders, 
because  of  their  resemblance  to  a  crab  and  their  habit  of  run- 
ning sideways  rather  than  straight  ahead.  The  hind  part  of 
the  body  (abdomen)  is  large  and  flat,  while  the  front  portion  is 
small ;  the  eight  legs  attached  to  the  latter  extend  sideways 
for  some  distance. 


FIG.  51.  —  Flower  Spider  and  its  Victim. 


An  interesting  study  of  the  relation  of  color  to  habits  of  life 
and  surroundings  is  presented  by  this  family  of  crab  spiders. 
There  are  two  principal  groups  having  different  habits  as 


54  STORIES   OF   INSECT   LIFE. 

regards  the  places  in  which  they  choose  to  live.  The  flower- 
loving  group  are  white  or  yellow,  sometimes  with  brilliant 
spots  or  streaks  that  help  their  resemblance  to  parts  of  a 
flower.  Most  of  the  other  members  of  the  family  live  upon 
the  bark  of  trees,  logs,  shrubs,  and  in  similar  situations,  and 
are  colored  in  various  shades  of  gray  and  brown.  This  resem- 
blance to  their  surroundings  is  useful  to  these  spiders  in  two 
ways  :  (1)  by  concealing  them  from  birds  or  other  enemies  ; 
naturalists  call  this  protective  resemblance;  (2)  by  concealing 
them  from  the  insects  which  they  catch  for  food ;  this  is  called 
aggressive  resemblance. 


ADVERTISEMENTS. 


NATURE   STUDY 

BOOKS    OK 


Stories  Of  Insect  Life.    (First  Series.) 

By  CLARENCE  MOORES  WEED,  Professor  of  Zoology  and  Entomology 
in  the  New  Hampshire  College  of  Agriculture  and  the  Mechanic  Arts. 
i2mo.  Boards.  54  pages.  Illustrated.  For  introduction,  25  cents. 

The  insects  treated  of  in  this  book  are  the  more  interesting 
common  forms  of  spring  and  early  summer.  The  story  of  the 
life  of  each  is  told  in  a  simple  way,  rendering  the  book  especially 
desirable  for  children  to  read  in  connection  with  nature  studies  of 
insects. 

Stories  Of  Insect  Life.    (Second  Series.) 

Summer  and  Autumn.  By  MARY  E.  MURTFELDT  and  CLARENCE 
M.  WEED.  i2mo.  Cloth.  72  pages.  For  introduction,  30  cents. 

This  book,  like  its  predecessor,  aims  to  give  to  young  pupils  an 
accurate  and  readable  account  of  the  life  histories  of  some  com- 
mon insects.  It  is  designed  for  use  during  the  autumn  months, 
as  the  first  book  was  especially  intended  for  use  in  spring.  The 
paragraphs  are  short,  the  language  simple,  with  no  more  technical 
words  than  are  absolutely  necessary,  and  each  story  is  compressed 
into  a  space  that  will  not  weary  the  child.  Throughout  the  stories 
the  reader  is  .  incited  to  make  original  observations  out  of  doors. 
An  introductory  chapter  gives  suggestions  to  the  teacher  regarding 
methods  of  using  insects  in  nature  study. 

Seed  travellers. 

By  CLARENCE  M.  WEED.  i2mo.  Boards.  53  pages.  Illustrated.  For 
introduction,  25  cents. 

This  book  consists  of  a  series  of  simple  discussions  of  the  more 
important  methods  by  which  seeds  are  dispersed. 

It  is  designed  especially  for  use  during  autumn  and  winter.  It 
is  believed  that  the  book  will  prove  of  decided  value  in  the  prac- 
tical work  of  the  schoolroom. 


GINN  &  COMPANY,  Publishers, 

Boston.          New  York.  Chicago.  Atlanta.          Dallas. 


ALL  THE  YEAR  ROUND. 

By  FRANCES   L.  STRONG, 

Of  the  Teachers'  Training  School,  St.  Paul,  Minn, 


Part  I.   AUTUMN. 

Sq.  12mo.    102  pages.   Fully  illustrated.   For  introduction,  30  cents. 

Part  II.    WINTER. 

Sq.  J2mo.   Cloth.    102  pages    Fully  illustrated.   For  introduction,  30  cents. 

Part  III.    SPRING. 

Sq.  12mo.   Cloth.   99  pages.   Fully  illustrated.   For  introduction,  30  cents. 

THIS  series  is  designed  to  tell  in  a  child's  language,  and 
in  a  manner  interesting  to  children,  stories  of  the  natural 
object  studied  for  a  specific  day  or  lesson.  The  stories 
correspond  in  order  of  arrangement  as  nearly  as  possible  to 
the  precise  time  of  the  year  at  which  the  materials  may  be 
most  readily  obtained  in  our  latitude. 

The  work  is  adapted  to  the  second,  third,  or  fourth  year 
of  school  according  to  the  course  of  study  in  the  schools 
which  use  it. 

The  stories  are  illustrated  by  Gertrude  A.  Stoker,  Super- 
visor of  Drawing  in  the  St.  Paul  Public  Schools,  with  pen- 
and-ink  sketches  of  the  objects  studied. 

The  series  also  contains  literary  selections  akin  to  the 
lessons,  and  references  to  selections  of  similar  nature  that 
may  be  obtained  from  other  sources. 


GINN   &   COMPANY,    PUBLISHERS, 

BOSTON.    NEW  YORK.    CHICAGO.    ATLANTA. 


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